Marrying for someone else and being a widow? Stepmothers open classes to raise children

Deep in the bustling streets of Jindu, there is a famous clothing store called Hanyifang, which specializes in providing high-end custom clothing for royal relatives and dignitaries. The reason why this store can win the favor of the nobles is not only because of the unique craftsmanship of its embroiderers, but also because of the endless marketing strategies of the store owner.

For example, every month when a new product is released, a grand viewing banquet is always held in Hanyifang. The invitations to these banquets are delivered to the dignitaries of Jindu in advance, and almost no one who receives the invitations is willing to offend Hanyifang.

The banquet is not just a monotonous display of clothing. Hanyifang will invite the most popular actors and storytellers to perform on stage, and let the embroiderers wear new clothing to show off, so that the guests can directly feel the charm of ready-made clothes.

As the leader of the ready-made garment industry in Shengjing, the embroiderers of Hanyifang are extraordinary in their skills and are the best in the industry. To stand out among these embroiderers, not only do they need superb skills, but they also need to have a unique charm to attract customers. Each embroiderer can bring a lot of money to Hanyifang every month, and this achievement is not achieved overnight. However, Hongniang has the talent to sew and name ready-made garments independently in just one year.

Ever since Gu Zhiyi appeared in that red dress on the day of her return visit, Hongniang's reputation has been at its peak. It is said that many customers specifically asked her to make clothes that month, and she alone earned tens of thousands of taels of silver for the store. The clothes she designed were novel in style and beautiful in style, and were deeply loved by customers. Because they were privately customized, there was no suspicion of duplication, so her reputation was unparalleled.

Gu Zhiyi is sincerely happy about Hongniang's achievement. At today's viewing banquet, Hongniang will present three new dresses that people are looking forward to. Gu Zhiyi is introverted and doesn't like crowds, but she will never miss Hongniang's event.

The carriage swayed and soon arrived at the gate of Hanyifang. As soon as Gu Zhiyi got off the carriage, Hongniang came to greet her warmly. This 17-year-old girl, who was unmarried and childless, exuded the vigor and vitality that her peers lacked in this era. She naturally took Gu Zhiyi's arm and said, "I expected you to come to support the sisters."

Gu Zhiyi responded with a smile: "I never refuse anything that is profitable."

Hong Niang glared at him in pretended anger: "Can't you just let me enjoy the feeling of sisterly love? Do you have to expose me?"

Although Hongniang's father only had one wife and one daughter, she had many cousins, many of whom were ambitious and wanted to use her to become the legitimate heir of the family. She suffered a lot of losses because of this when she was a child, and she always felt annoyed when she mentioned those people.

Gu Zhiyi and Hong Niang met by chance. A few years ago, when Gu Zhiyi was fortune-telling for the wife of the Marquis of Yongxin, she was harassed by hooligans. There were many onlookers at the time, but no one stepped forward. It was Hong Niang, who was not yet an adult, who rushed out with her servants. She was dressed in red, as arrogant and passionate as her skirt, and kicked the hooligan to the ground alone until he begged for mercy. In Hong Niang's view, the friendship between them was forged in their joint efforts to drive out the hooligans.

Gu Zhiyi had no clear idea of ​​the meaning of revolution, but every time she quietly stepped out of the Gu Mansion, in addition to going to the residence of the wife of Marquis Yongxin, her footsteps added a new destination.

Due to the indifference of family affection and the commonplace hypocrisy of the Gu family, she did not have much expectation for deep friendship, so she always maintained an indifferent attitude in front of Hongniang. However, this girl was cheerful and lively by nature, always able to ignore her resistance, approach her enthusiastically, and be intimate with her. Gu Zhiyi tried to refuse several times, but it was ineffective, so she had to follow her temper.

"I prepared three sets of clothes this time." Hong Niang's eyes sparkled with excitement as she explained her design inspiration to Gu Zhiyi: "The first set is called 'Golden Autumn', with the bright yellow color of corn as the main color. There is a layer inside the skirt, so you don't have to worry about the cold even if the temperature difference between morning and evening is large. The design of the shawl is even more ingenious. It can be folded into a short shawl to keep out the cold in the morning and evening, and can be unfolded at noon and used as a skirt. It is light and not stuffy."

The girl spoke eloquently and told Gu Zhiyi her design concept without reservation. Then she looked at her mysteriously and said, "I'm telling you, Hong Gu told me today that if I perform well enough today, I will be promoted to a gold medal embroiderer after the end."

In Hanyifang, the embroiderers have a clear hierarchy, with bronze medals being the lowest and gold medals being the highest, and above gold medals are managers. Hong Gu is the manager of Hanyifang. There are only five gold medal embroiderers in Hanyifang, and almost all of them have been there since the founding of Hanyifang. However, Hong Niang is expected to be promoted to gold medal after just one year and an opportunity to attend an appreciation banquet, which shows her talent.

Talented people often attract jealousy.

Gu Zhiyi looked at the bright smile on Hong Niang's face. Although she didn't have the heart to break her fantasy, she still reminded her: "I'm afraid it won't go as you wish today."

"Ah?" Hong Niang was stunned for a moment.

Although the two have known each other for quite some time, Gu Zhiyi, deeply influenced by Minister Gu, rarely reveals her ability to read faces. Occasionally, she helped Hongniang resolve minor disasters and difficulties, but she did it silently, without even informing Hongniang. However, the situation this time was different. If she didn't tell him, it would be difficult to resolve.

She pursed her lips tightly, hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "I forgot to bring the reward money when I went out today. Can I borrow some from you?"

Hongniang was obviously a little surprised.

The two had known each other for many years, and Gu Zhiyi had always been a polite and courteous friend. She had never made such a sudden request. Not only was it a sudden request, but even ordinary requests were something that Gu Zhiyi had never made.

She could feel that Gu Zhiyi had been silently taking care of her.

Gu Zhiyi stared quietly at the girl in front of her.

If Hongniang rejected her or even didn't believe her, she would solve today's problem for her, but from then on, there would be no need for them to have any more interactions. Because she couldn't always bear the wrath of heaven.

Just as she was thinking this, she saw Hongniang take out a purse from her sleeve.

The purse was heavy, and it looked like there were at least 20 or 30 taels of silver. For ordinary people, this might be a huge fortune that they could hardly accumulate in their lifetime.

Although Hongniang came from a wealthy family, she had never relied on her family's protection since she left home to become independent, but instead lived on the salary she earned in Hanyifang.

She only had a fixed salary of three taels of silver per month, and her bonus depended on her performance that month. Before this, she had already experienced several months of hardship with only a basic salary.

Gu Zhiyi raised the corner of her mouth slightly, revealing an elegant and charming smile, and said softly: "No need, it's enough."

Looking at Gu Zhiyi's fresh, refined and charming smile, Hong Niang's expression suddenly froze, and she quickly shifted her gaze, not daring to look any closer.